Built within the Menominee Nation: How sturgeon shaped the Wisconsin tribe

KESHENA - At the Menominee Cultural Museum in Keshena, sturgeon are all over the place.

In the main exhibit hall, a large plastic sturgeon replica dangles from the ceiling, resting next to a picture of the first reintroduction of sturgeon to the reservation in 1992. In the conference room, two sturgeon — each several feet long — hang on the wall.

David Grignon, Menominee National tribal historic preservation officer, wears an ornate sturgeon necklace a family member created for him. The giant, prehistoric fish swims through bright blue waters in a circular pendant.

On the walls of Grignon's office are posters from previous sturgeon feasts and celebration powwows.

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The tribal director of historic preservation, David Grignon, helped lead the movement to get the sturgeon back to the Menominee Nation in 1992.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

One banner from April 2017 reads "NAMA'O KEWAEHMAKAT PIATAEH," which translates to "the sturgeon are coming home."

While avid fishers and recreational viewers flock to Lake Winnebago this month to participate and observe the sturgeon spearfishing season, the Menominee people continue to celebrate the return of the beloved and well-respected fish.

Twenty-seven years ago, sturgeon came home to the Menominee reservation, but the people's relationship with the fish dates back to the tribe's creation.

"Sturgeon is part of us,” Grignon said.

Thousands of years ago, the Menominee’s creation story took place just 60 miles east of the tribe’s current reservation in Keshena. Five major clans were formed — bear, eagle, moose, wolf and crane. Each clan is further divided into sub-groups, but within the bear clan resides the sturgeon clan.

Grignon is actually from the wolf clan but feels very passionate about sturgeon.

According to Menominee tradition, right after creation, one of the first things the Menominee people did was catch sturgeon, Grignon said. The massive fish provided them with sustenance and medicine during harsh Wisconsin winters, and for that, they thanked the Creator.

For thousands of years, the Menominee celebrated the importance of sturgeon with an annual ceremony in Keshena.

“This is the Menominee people," said Grignon. "It’s part of our tradition. It’s part of our culture, our language."

Sturgeon was traditionally the first fresh meat each spring

Sturgeon, a prehistoric fish, can grow several feet long. The largest sturgeon recorded in Wisconsin was 84.2 inches long and weighed 212.2 pounds.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The Menominee people onceoccupied more than 10 million acres of land in Wisconsin, Grignon said. Karla Szekeres, marking and membership coordinator at Oshkosh Public Museum, said the Menominee have been in the area for over 13,000 years.

The people celebrated the sturgeon run in springtime with a feast, ceremony and dances — sturgeon was the first fresh meat each spring.

When Wisconsin was trying to become a state in 1848, settlers approached the Menominee chiefs about obtaining some of their land. First, an area in present-day Minnesota was proposed. The settlers promised the Menominee fish, game and rice.

Chief Oshkosh, the Menominee leader, didn’t agree with the treaty and went to Washington, D.C., to speak with President Millard Fillmore. He suggested an area on the Wolf River, a place that nobody wanted at the time, Grignon said.

“He called it 'Wilderness,'” Grignon said.

The 1854 Treaty at Keshena Falls established the Menominee Indian reservation.

“One of the main reasons we wanted this land was because of the Wolf River and the migration of sturgeon every year from Winnebago to the traditional spawning grounds at Keshena Falls,” Grignon said.

At the time of creation, the Creator gave each clan duties, Grignon explained. The sturgeon was both the keeper of the wild rice and also the historians — and "Menominee" means people of the rice.

“That’s who we are. We are connected to our clan story,” said Mike Hoffman, cultural consultant to the Menominee Clans Story at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The Oshkosh Public Museum is working to open a new clans exhibit in the Winnebago Room, which will feature hand-carved and painted clan figures created by Menominee artist James Frechette Jr.

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The Menominee Cultural Museum in Keshena has an exhibit on the importance of the sturgeon to the Menominee Nation.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

After 100 years without sturgeon, the Menominee celebrated their return

Despite strong ties between the Menominee and sturgeon, Keshena was without the fish for 100 years.

The Shawano dam was built in 1892 and stopped the sturgeon run. It was a huge cultural loss for the Menominee, Grignon said.

Grignon was one of the Menominee who pushed for reintroduction of sturgeon to the reservation. In 1992, the Menominee chairman Glen Miller negotiated with the Department of Natural Resources and the governor to allow 15 sturgeon for their annual feast and celebration.

An elder led and taught the Menominee traditional prayers and songs, because he had a grandfather who had knowledge of the celebration.

The first year that the Menominee revitalized the sturgeon ceremony, it was small. Twenty-seven years later, the annual event has grown to 500 attendees, Grignon said.

The ceremony is planned every year in April — this year it is set for April 20 at Menominee Indian High School.

One unique element of the celebration is a traditional fish dance, which mimics the movements of sturgeon coming up the river to spawn.

The feast, naturally, includes sturgeon. A tribe member spends a whole week smoking and preparing fish.

Cox said it’s critically important to celebrate the fish that sustained the Menominee people and carry on longstanding traditions. Without celebrations and recognition, a part of Menominee culture could be lost.

Wisconsin is squeaky cheese curds, fishing spots, Packers fans and time spent by the lake. It’s also the Milwaukee entrepreneur, the Hmong artisan and the dairy farmer. Stories in our Be Wisconsin series look at deeply rooted tradition and at the surprising ways the state culture is changing.

Wisconsin is squeaky cheese curds, fishing spots, Packers fans and time spent by the lake. It’s also the Milwaukee entrepreneur, the Hmong artisan and the dairy farmer. Stories in our Be Wisconsin series look at deeply rooted tradition and at the surprising ways the state culture is changing.

Fish decoys used in sturgeon spearfishing are displayed at the Oshkosh Public Museum's People of the Waters exhibit.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

How did the Menominee fish for sturgeon?

Hoffman knew of the connection between Lake Winnebago and sturgeon spearfishing through his own family story. Hoffman’s parents lived on the Menominee reservation, but his grandmother was born in Oshkosh in 1911.

“It wasn’t like it is today where these guys go out and spear sturgeon for fun,” Hoffman said. “The sole purpose of getting the sturgeon was to keep the people alive.”

The Menominee would cut a hole in the ice, then construct a little hut out of saplings and throw a blanket over it to make it dark. The spearers used small bone fish decoys on a string to lure the bottom feeder sturgeon to a spot below their hole. Then as the fish passed, they would spear it.

Grignon said missionary priests first documented the Menominee spearfishing on Lake Winnebago.

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The Oshkosh Public Museum's People of the Waters exhibit includes fishing and spearing artifacts from Native American tribes in Wisconsin including the Menominee.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Because of its cultural importance, the Menominee people worked with the DNR to reintroduce a population of sturgeon they could harvest into Legend Lake, Cox said. Legend Lake is within the Menominee reservation limits.

The state brought 6,000 fingerling sturgeon and introduced them into Legend Lake, Grignon said. Only Menominee tribal members are allowed to harvest sturgeon on the lake. There is no fee for members, but they are required to have a specific tag.

The sturgeon on Legend Lake can be caught via spearing or hook-and-line. The sturgeon season on Legend Lake is year-round, but the harvest limit is 100 sturgeon with a 36-inch minimum. The bag limit is two lake sturgeon per tribal member, according to the Menominee Indian tribe fishing regulations.

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For 10 years, Walter Cox has worked as director of conservation for the Menominee tribe.(Photo: Margaret Naczek/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Cox said now many more Menominee are participating in hook-and-line rather than spearing. He suggested the economic factor in spearing — it isn't cheap to purchase spears.

But perhaps it’s not the hook-and-line or spearfishing that is drawing people to sturgeon. Every year when the DNR brings sturgeon to a creek below Keshena Falls to spawn, people come out in large groups just to watch the prehistoric fish swim.

The Menominee honor sturgeon with songs and tobacco offerings, just to acknowledge and praise that they have the fish back again, Grignon said.

“It’s more (that) the fish are there,” Cox said. “I think most people appreciate it more culturally just to see them than to harvest.”